The Washington Department of Ecology has given its final approval of the Washington State Maritime Cooperative’s (WSMC) umbrella oil spill readiness plan that covers more than 1,600 commercial vessels that transit Puget Sound and Grays Harbor. WSMC’s oil spill readiness – or contingency – plan helps ensure that large commercial vessels can mount a rapid, aggressive and well coordinated response if they spill oil in state waters. The plan identifies the location of different response equipment such as oil containment boom, skimming and towing vessels and vacuum trucks in Puget Sound and Grays Harbor. It also identifies how the equipment will be mobilized by private response entities during a spill to minimize harm to important environmental, cultural and economic resources. Dave Haviland reports.